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03 November 2013

"Thick Like Rain"

One of those chance things you come
upon that distract you far away in time and place.

A meteor storm was seen by two
awestruck young children of Adam Spencer UE, on the Niagara Peninsula
in 1799:

"The shower of stars that was
visible in North and South America November 13, 1799 was
witnessed by them. Their fire, which at that time was always kept
alive in the fireplace of the homes, by banking up at night, had gone
out, and two of the children were sent in the early morning hours to
a neighbour for coals. This was not an uncommon occurrence in those
days as there were no matches, fire could only be obtained by flint.
My grandmother then a very little girl and an older brother, together
witnessed the beautiful sight. She said the stars fell thick like
rain until a few feet from the ground and then disappeared. The
beauty of it was beyond description, though awe inspiring the
children were not afraid, but many of the people in the neighbourhood
were panic stricken, thinking that the end of the world had come, or
was near."(1)

The
spectacular sight the night before was apparently the first record
of a meteor shower, probably because astronomer Andrew E. Douglass
reported the same event from a ship near the Florida Keys:

"the
whole heaven appeared as if illuminated with sky rockets, flying in
an infinity of directions, and I was in constant expectation of some
of them falling on the vessel. They continued until put out by the
light of the sun after day break."(2)

Also
according
to This
Day in History:

The
Leonids meteor shower is an annual event that is greatly enhanced
every 33 years or so by the appearance of the comet Tempel-Tuttle.
When the comet returns, the Leonids can produce rates of up to
several thousand meteors per hour that can light up the sky on a
clear night. Douglass witnessed one such manifestation of the Leonids
shower, and the subsequent return of the comet Tempel-Tuttle in 1833
is credited as inspiring the first organized study of meteor
astronomy.

Meteorologist
Joe Rao says:

"Other
accounts were brought to light of a shower of thousands of bright
meteors on November 12, 1799, described by the Prussian scientist and
explorer Alexander von Humboldt from his camp in Cumanã, Venezuela.
In his words, there was 'no part of the sky so large as twice the
Moon's diameter not filled each instant by meteors.' An observer in
Florida that same night noted that the meteors were 'at any one
instant as numerous as the stars,' while at Iserstadt, Germany,
'bright streaks and flashes' were seen even though day had already
broken."(3)

As we
know, spectacular meteor showers are not everyday happenings. The
largest ones can more or less be predicted and measured every
thirty-odd years, thus the flurry of popular interest when celestials
align. November is usually the time of year for watching.

We
are so sophisticated now we do not fear that the sky is falling. We
can share the Spencers' childish rapture at nature's dazzling cosmic
display. You can bet they remembered it all their days and obviously
passed the story on.